Following three events on gravel (Portugal, Italy and Poland) and two tarmac rounds (Germany and France), the Clio R3T entered by Renault Sport Technologies in the WRC 3 World Rally Championship is now set to tackle the season’s only mixed-surface rally in Spain. Based in Catalonia and mostly held on tarmac, this event is expected to enable Clio R3T to demonstrate its reliability and performance on both road surfaces.

“We have already confirmed Clio R3T’s reliability at world level on tarmac, in Germany,” noted Sylvain Alanore, Team Manager, Renault Sport Technologies. “In Corsica, the speed was certainly there, we were just a bit short on luck. We now head for Spain to finish the season in style and make a strong impression by combining performance and reliability. A top-three finish in the WRC 3 is within our grasp and we’ll do everything in our power to finish second overall. That would be just reward for the hard work put in by the entire team.”

Quick since the start of the season, Andrea Crugnola and Michele Ferrara have been short on luck at certain events, like in Corsica where a puncture almost certainly cost them a top-three finish. Keen to make up the lost ground, they will be looking to secure a second win this year, which might put them in the top three of the WRC 3 overall standings.

Andrea Crugnola and Michele Ferrara will begin the rally with the Barcelona super special stage on Thursday evening before tackling the opening leg on Friday, which will be mostly contested on gravel. A loop of four stages will be contested twice, with three short tests on gravel plus Terra Alta (35.68km), which will feature both surfaces. The performance of Clio R3T will therefore largely depend on finding the right balance as regards set-up to adapt to the specific features of the road surfaces.

The rest of the rally – which will be a home race for ASM Motorsport, the team in charge of preparing the vehicle for Renault Sport Technologies – will be held on tarmac. With eight stages on Saturday and six tests on Sunday, the Clio R3T crew will need to remain focused throughout all 23 stages if they are to have a chance of securing a podium spot in the WRC 3.

WRC 3 standings ahead of Rally Catalunya
1. Quentin Gilbert 100 points (5 results)
2. Ole Christian Veiby 75 (5 results)
3. Simone Tempestini 62 (5 results)
4. Andrea Crugnola 60 (5 results)
5. Henri Haapamaki 48 (3 results)…